Thrust bearings are a particular type of rotary-element bearings and are designed to support axial loads. Thrust bearings are commonly used in automotive, marine, power generation and aerospace applications. One common use is in turbochargers, particularly for passenger and commercial vehicles.
Turbochargers are used to increase engine power output by providing higher charge-air density such that more fuel can be burned in each engine cycle. The use of turbochargers permits use of smaller engines and still maintain similar power and performance as larger engines. This also leads to the design and production of smaller and lighter vehicles, with resultant savings in weight and increased fuel economy.
One type of thrust bearings which are utilized in turbochargers are fixed profile fluid-film thrust bearings which provide increased bearing life and reduced cost. Thrust bearings contain a plurality of thrust pads arranged on one or both sides of the thrust bearing disc, and have central openings for placement on or around a shaft. These thrust bearings create regions of oil between the thrust pads and rotating disc members, such as collar washers, which support the applied thrust and eliminate metal-on-metal contact.
Current methods of manufacturing the thrust pads for fluid-film thrust bearings are expensive with lengthy cycle times, or are manufactured by stamping which often creates tolerance issues with pad geometry often leading to additional effort and costly redesign.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved fixed profile fluid-film thrust bearings. It is another object to provide improved thrust pads for fluid-film thrust bearings. It is still another object of the present invention to provide improved methods of manufacture of thrust bearings, particularly relative to the formation of thrust pads for thrust bearings.